-4- The human mind loves symmetry. And my mind is no exception. Not long after I became president of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in 2022, I sat down with Penny Voss, OMRF’s vice president of philanthropy and community relations. Penny and I were discussing OMRF’s 75th anniversary, which had happened the previous year. She and her team had mapped out a series of activities to celebrate the milestone, but the Covid-19 pandemic had short-circuited that plan. As we were talking, I started doing a little math. If OMRF was founded in 1946, that meant we’d turn 77 in 2023. In studying up on my new home state, I’d just learned that Oklahoma has 77 counties. Like a lightbulb switching on, the path forward became clear to me: We needed to commemorate OMRF’s 77th year by visiting all 77 of Oklahoma’s counties. Well, in 2023, that’s what we did. Or started to do. We kicked off our 77 for 77 campaign in August, which marked the 77th anniversary of our founding. In the ensuing 12 months – which, as of this writing, we’re still in the midst of – we’re traveling the state to thank donors, promote OMRF and build support for medical research. Already, it’s been a fantastic journey. The number and breadth of Oklahomans we’ve met has been eye opening. From former patients to high school biology students, each has a story and a perspective that has reminded me of the many different ways we can serve the people of this state. More than anything, this experience has underscored a truth that should have been obvious to me. While we at OMRF spend our days, weeks, months and years focused on conducting biomedical research and delivering compassionate, science-driven clinical care, when you strip it all away, our mission is about one thing: people. The people we try to help. The people who help us. The people who make OMRF all that we are today. So, in honor of our 77th anniversary, this annual report will introduce you to 77 of those people. Each plays a different role in our narrative, with a unique voice and way they connect to OMRF’s mission. But taken together, they paint a rich portrait of the community that makes up OMRF today. There are countless other folks we could have included, not only from our present, but also from our past. However, especially in this year, 77 seemed like the perfect number to show who we are: Oklahoma’s medical research foundation. Andrew S. Weyrich
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-6- When it came time to take the concept of a statewide gratitude tour and transform it into an actual campaign that touched each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, who better to lead the effort than a pair of the Sooner State’s former First Ladies and their husbands? “I thought it was a fantastic idea to explain to people across Oklahoma the outstanding medical research happening in our home state,” says former First Lady Kim Henry, who, along with former Gov. Brad Henry, gladly accepted the assignment. Kim had previously served on OMRF’s National Advisory Council, as had former First Lady Cathy Keating, who, with former Gov. Frank Keating, agreed to join Kim and Brad as 77 for 77 co-chairs. “OMRF is one of the most highly regarded medical research institutes in the country. We’re doing great work,” says Cathy. “This campaign is a great way to spread the message.” For her, 77 for 77 is nothing less than a “call to action.” And that action is to get more Oklahomans involved with OMRF. “OMRF is a jewel in our Oklahoma crown,” Cathy says. “Everybody needs to feel ownership of that jewel.”
-7- When Dr. Courtney Griffin became OMRF’s vice president of research in 2023, it marked yet another important step in her 15-year career at the foundation. A graduate of Harvard University who earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, she joined OMRF as an assistant professor in the Cardiovascular Biology Research Program following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research on how blood vessels develop turned heads, earning multiple publications in leading scientific journals and a series of federal grants. She made her way up OMRF’s academic ladder, with promotions to associate and then full professor, and she was installed as the Scott Zarrow Chair in Biomedical Research. She took on key roles both internally and externally, leading OMRF’s postdoctoral training program as well as the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research and the North American Vascular Biology Organization. With her new role, Courtney now serves as OMRF’s chief scientific officer, and she’s already begun charting the course of OMRF’s research programs as they look to the horizon. “Our scientists are poised to do some amazing work, and I’m excited to help them,” she says.
-8- Early in his residency, Dr. Matlock Jeffries realized that his patients “all had osteoarthritis.” When he dug into the medical literature, he found little research on the condition, which affects at least 32 million Americans. “With how common it was, I thought that was strange.” Now a rheumatologist, researcher and director of OMRF’s Osteoarthritis Center of Excellence, the Miami, Oklahoma, native is working hard to change that, most recently with a grant from a new federal “moonshot” program that will enable him to test a single-injection treatment that promotes tissue regeneration and restores joints. “If this works,” he says, “it would be one of the most dramatic accomplishments of modern biomedical science.”
-9- Carolyn and Paul Schulte have been giving to OMRF for more than two decades. A member of OMRF’s board of directors, Paul, an attorney, grew up on a wheat farm in Kingfisher County, where he and Carolyn still live. “For as long as I can remember, my parents supported OMRF,” he says. His father, a farmer, contracted polio as a child, and he witnessed the advent of a cure during his lifetime. He knew it wouldn’t have come without research, and investing in the next generation of research projects made sense to him. “Farmers always strive to leave the land better than they found it,” says Paul. That same mindset has continued to motivate Paul and Carolyn’s support of OMRF: It’s a gift to those who follow.
-10- Jannie Jefferies recently marked her 80th birthday. That meant a celebratory lunch with her many friends at the foundation, who presented her with a tiara and sash to commemorate the occasion. Of those 80 years, Jannie has spent the past 33-plus as file coordinator in OMRF’s accounting department, where the only thing more reliable than her recordkeeping is the supply of candy she sets out on her desk to share with coworkers. Jannie has moved to part-time as she phases toward retirement, but she continues a custom that’s marked her entire tenure at OMRF: serenading the office with an impromptu vocal performance when the moment strikes her. “I just try to fit the song with what’s going on,” she says. “Sometimes it feels inspirational to me.” And, she hopes, to others. Tom Gray and Rick McCune aren’t scientists. But as chairman and president of Oklahoma City’s Presbyterian Health Foundation, they share a goal with OMRF’s researchers: to improve the health of all Oklahomans. To help achieve that goal, the foundation has awarded more than $215 million to OMRF and other state organizations aligned with the foundation’s mission. Each year, the foundation provides grants that support needs and programs at OMRF and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Those awards include seed funding for new ideas, an M.D./Ph.D. training program, equipment, scientist recruitment and retention, and collaborative grants, which enable teams to work across disciplines. The foundation, says Tom, isn’t afraid to invest in high-risk, high-reward projects. “When you plant a seed, either it’s going to produce, or it’s not.” But without seeds, he says, one thing is assured: Nothing will grow.
-11- Are there any honors that Dr. Judith James hasn’t received? In 2023, the acclaimed physician-scientist was inducted into both the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Medicine. With the latter, the Pond Creek native became the first Oklahoma woman so honored. A rheumatologist and immunologist, her work has shifted scientists’ understanding of how diseases like lupus develop. She’s also been instrumental in leading clinical trials that aim to delay and even prevent the debilitating illness. Still, don’t expect OMRF’s executive vice president and chief medical officer to take a victory lap any time soon. “I feel an incredible responsibility to keep pushing forward to better understand these conditions, not only to help improve treatments and outcomes for patients with autoimmune disease but also to bring research to all Oklahomans to live longer, healthier lives,” she says. Indeed, she may soon be joined on that quest by a familiar face. Her daughter, Rebecca Wood, is now a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She’s doing her Ph.D. research in a lab at OMRF, where she is investigating – you guessed it – autoimmune disease.
-12- Since Danielle Jamison began treatment with Adakveo, a drug based on the work of OMRF Distinguished Career Scientist Dr. Rodger McEver, her life has changed. “I’m able to be much more active and have less pain. It’s such a blessing.” Diagnosed with sickle cell disease as a child, she lived for decades with frequent hospitalizations, regular blood transfusions and constant pain. But once she started therapy with Adakveo, she no longer had to set an alarm to wake up and take pain medication, hoping the dose would get her through the night. “Life is so much better now,” she says. “Every minute I have not dealing with pain is a miracle.” Dr. Ashley Cheyney is no stranger to OMRF, but her role is new. As the foundation’s first director of scientific training and outreach, she’s working to support students and trainees at all levels, from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows. She’s also hitting the road to “teach people about science and the incredible work being done at OMRF.” Ashley first came to OMRF in 2012 as a research technician, and she ended up doing the majority of her Ph.D. work in the foundation’s labs. Now, the native of Ochelata, a small town in northeastern Oklahoma where she was a pre-teen gymnastics prodigy, is drawing on her days climbing the biomedical research ladder to help others doing the same – and to get the word out about OMRF. “My educational background and communication experience allow me to connect with folks in an authentic way,” she says. “And as a native Oklahoman, it’s easy to relate to the broader community.”
-13- Kelsey and Gerard D’Emilio believed they would never become parents because of Kelsey’s multiple sclerosis. Thanks to the care the former opera singer received at OMRF, in 2023 the couple welcomed their son, Luca. “OMRF was an answer to our prayers,” says Kelsey. “It’s where hope begins.”
-14- As OMRF’s director of food services, Chase Pierce has spent the past dozen years fueling scientific discovery. “I really enjoy feeding the people who make the research happen,” he says. With his team in the Research Café, Chase prepares breakfast and lunch every day for OMRF’s staff of more than 500 people, as well as regulars from the nearby VA Medical Center and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. A native Oklahoman, he’s expanded his culinary horizons significantly since joining the foundation. “We have people from a lot of different countries and cultures, so we’ve tried to incorporate dishes that appeal to them.” In a recent week, that meant everything from chicken tagine with artichokes (a dish that originated in Morocco) to vegetarian Caribbean black bean soup. Still, Chase can’t help but throw in Oklahoma classics like chicken-fried steak every once in a while. “They might not be that good for the body, but they’re definitely good for the soul.”
-15- When he’s not nourishing his coworkers, Chase Pierce has found another way to connect with them – through music. Along with Joe Woodward, Taylor Conner and Dr. Jacob Brown, he is a member of the band Potoo. Named after a South American bird known for its large eyes and haunting, high-pitched call, the quartet of OMRFers performs songs that Joe describes as “loud, fast and pretty hardcore.” They’ve played several gigs, which have given fellow employees a chance to see – and hear – a different aspect of their colleagues. Still, says Joe, the side gig shares an important feature with their day jobs. “In science and music, you’re problem-solving. You’re always tweaking something to make it just right.” In other words, they’re both experimental.
-16- Kenneth and Bernice Steele have donated to OMRF for 20 straight years. After “retiring” as the head of a big cattle operation in 1990, Kenneth has continued to run his own cattle ranch in Holdenville for 34 years – and counting. “When I read what OMRF is doing, I feel proud to have a small part in it,” he says.
-17- Before Dr. Dean Dawson began pursuing his Ph.D., he spent a summer battling wildfires in Wyoming. He enjoyed the excitement and time outdoors, and he figured that if graduate school didn’t pan out, he’d “go back and fight fires.” Well, graduate school went just fine, and after studying with a pair of Nobel Prize-winning scientists, Dean has become a formidable cell biologist in his own right. For the past 18 years, his lab at OMRF has focused on “trying to figure out how the cells that make up each one of us can divide literally trillions of times and almost maintain the perfect 46 chromosomes per cell necessary for our bodies to function properly.” That work has helped cast light on conditions like cancer and birth defects, and a new federal grant will enable it to continue for another five years. Dean received word of the award in December, the same month he reached another milestone: qualifying for the Boston Marathon for the first time at age 68. If he ever decides to give firefighting another go, the fitness test should be no problem.
-18- Thuy Kong joined OMRF in 2015. Four years later, she convinced younger sister Nikki to follow suit. Today, both work as technicians in the department of comparative medicine, feeding and maintaining some of the more than 30,000 mice that play a central role in the research of OMRF scientists. Although the sisters work in different parts of the foundation, being a part of the same animal care team has strengthened their bond. “We’ve grown a lot closer,” says Thuy. “We see each other more, talk more, and have more in common.” At a minimum, they try to have lunch together at least once a week. Over those meals, they’ve schemed about recruiting yet another sibling to OMRF. But, says Nikki, “he wasn’t ready to leave his current job.” At least not yet.
-19- Aba Quainoo arrived at OMRF in 2023 with modest expectations about her summer internship. “I figured I would just be watching, not really getting hands-on work,” says the West Point cadet. “But when I got here, they explained what the lab is doing, let me watch for a bit, and then I was doing it myself.” Aba interned through the John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program, which is open to U.S. military academy students and compresses an intensive summer research internship into three to four weeks. Dr. John Saxon III, a Muskogee physician and OMRF director, established the program to honor his late father, a West Point graduate who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a career Air Force pilot. “OMRF exposed me to things I was not expecting at this stage of my career,” says Aba, who plans to attend medical school. “It showed me I was able to do so much more than I thought I could.”
-20- Joel Solís is a San Francisco transplant, while Jennifer Allenwood migrated to Oklahoma City to escape the Maine winters. As Oklahomans by choice, the pair have a unique perspective on our state’s many selling points, which they put to use each day as recruiters for OMRF. The foundation draws its staff from all corners of the country, as well as more than two dozen other nations, and candidates often weigh competing opportunities in neighboring states or on the coasts. When they ask about life in Oklahoma City, Jennifer likes to emphasize that “there’s a little something for everyone here, whether you’re a foodie, a sports person, or someone who loves the outdoors.” Joel often focuses on the human element: “Oklahomans are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” But, they both agree, OMRF’s mission serves as the most compelling draw. “Improving human health – what could be better than that?” says Jennifer. Helping people live longer, healthier lives gives OMRF’s recruiting team a sense of purpose. “It sounds cheesy,” she says, “but it’s legit.”
About the only time Dr. Elizabeth Finn is not thinking about science is when she’s engaged in her other passion – acrobatics. The high-flying hobby hoists the OMRF geneticist and molecular biologist skyward on long, fabric straps, which she uses to spin and otherwise contort her body. “At 30 feet in the air, my mind has to be locked on my next move,” she says. “My focus is the only thing between me and the ground.” In the laboratory, she studies how chromosomes fold themselves within each cell, work that could lead to a deeper understanding of conditions like cancer and epilepsy. Right now, those connections remain up in the air. Which, for Elizabeth, is perfect.
-22- Meg Salyer has served as a community representative on OMRF’s conflict of interest committee for more than a decade, and she recently joined the foundation’s board of directors. When a family member began experiencing autoimmune disease symptoms, she knew exactly where to turn. “It’s incredible to have a resource in our state with world-class researchers and doctors. They provide the kind of care Oklahomans often think they need to travel out of state to get.” Dr. Greg Watkins calls April 20, 2007, his “new birthday.” That was the day Greg, a dentist, received his first dose of Soliris, a drug for a rare blood disorder he’d lived with for more than a decade. Based on work done at OMRF, the drug virtually eliminated his symptoms, which had included debilitating fatigue and flu-like illness that led to frequent hospitalizations. Now 74 and retired, Greg continues to receive regular treatment with Soliris. “The research at OMRF means everything to me,” he says. “It gave me my life back.”
-23- After 35 years as a laboratory technician, Melinda West retired from OMRF in 2019. Sort of. Foundation researchers were eager to tap the experimental skills she’d honed in her long career, and Melinda liked coming back to connect with the science and people who’d played such an important role in her life. So, for the past five years, she’s enjoyed doing occasional contract work in the lab. And when she does, she can visit her children. Stuart serves as operations coordinator for OMRF’s comparative medicine department, while Rebecca recently moved from a position in gift management to a new role as compliance coordinator for the institutional animal care and use committee. For Melinda, “it’s validating” to have apples that fall so close to the family tree. “Stuart and Rebecca have known since they were kids that I love this place. It’s one of the best places you could work.”
-24- A self-described “adrenaline junkie” whose non-OMRF pursuits have included bungee jumping and obstacle course racing, Dr. Courtney Montgomery loves a good challenge. So, it came as no surprise to those who knew her that the biostatistician and Duncan native signed on to become the first director of OMRF’s Center for Biomedical Data Sciences. OMRF began construction in 2023 of the new center, which aims to help all foundation scientists manage and process an ever-growing mountain of biological information. But Courtney isn’t waiting on the bricks and mortar to get going. Her team has already begun to work with numerous OMRF scientists on a wide array of projects. “This is going to fast-track scientific discovery,” she says.
-25- Roberta Roush runs an average of 20 miles a week. But after watching her father undergo two arthritis-related knee replacements, she wanted to do her part to help others avoid his fate. When she saw an ad for a research study on arthritis at OMRF, she called right away to see if she qualified. She did, and she now visits OMRF every six months to give blood and other biological samples and to undergo an X-ray. Even though OMRF compensates her for her time and effort, she prefers to donate the money back to the foundation. “It’s an honor to participate. I’m just happy to help.”
-26- “The reality is that we are born, and we die,” says Michael Carolina. “The objective is to make the experience in the middle better.” An OMRF board member and retired executive director of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, he and his wife, Sharon, have been supporting OMRF for a quarter century. They see their donations to OMRF as a way to improve the “middle” that’s so important to all of us – and to enrich the state in the process. “Oklahoma has everything we need to elevate in the national rankings, and OMRF is right at the center of that,” says Michael. “We get to see progress from every donation.” Every time Ashley Lay loads up OMRF’s rented sprinter van for another stop on the statewide 77 for 77 campaign, she remembers her charge from OMRF President Dr. Andrew Weyrich: “Bring OMRF out into the community.” To do that, she says, requires a checklist. A long one. “It has a lot of details,” says Ashley, who joined OMRF’s Philanthropy and Community Relations Department as an event planner after many years as a venue manager at restaurants and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Her previous experience helps now that she’s on the other side of those transactions. “I know that being nice and being grateful goes a long way,” says Ashley, who jokes that she “looks like a flight attendant” when she drags her bag into each new site across the state where OMRF scientists present. That bag includes everything from name tags for guests to a hammer, nails, scissors and clamps. For Ashley, who grew up on an Angus cattle ranch 17 miles outside of Vinita, one particularly gratifying aspect has been getting to expose students in rural communities to professions like health care and research. “It’s important to me for the younger generation to see pathways to those job opportunities and careers,” she says. Thanks in no small part to her efforts, they can.
-27- As OMRF’s attending veterinarian, Dr. Jennie Criley estimates she takes care of more than 50,000 experimental mice, rats, frogs and fish. So, what does she do in her spare time? Dote on her two dogs, Tony and Noah. “Tony is a sweet, sweet boy who never does anything wrong,” she says, “and Noah is a naughty, lovable imp.” Together with her husband, she trains the pair, both retired show dogs, for agility competitions.
-28- Dr. Benjamin Miller is not interested in adding more years to our lives. Rather, the avid mountain biker and head of OMRF’s Aging & Metabolism Research Program wants to add more life to the years we have. For the illnesses that kill the most Americans, one factor by far stands as the leading risk. “In heart disease and cancer, people typically think about things like smoking, alcohol, diet and exercise,” he says. “But as a risk factor, aging dwarfs everything else. It’s not even close.” At OMRF, Benjamin leads an expanding group of scientists focused on increasing that period of our lives when we remain healthy and free of disability. As part of those efforts, he’s directing a clinical study looking at whether the popular diabetes drug metformin can slow the biological process of aging. Edmond’s Tamera Joy volunteered for the study, a decision she called “doggone easy.” Despite a busy schedule, she was eager to do her part to help America’s aging population, a group that includes every one of us. “It’s been fun and informative,” she says. Would she do it again? “In a heartbeat.”
-29- Most postdoctoral fellows have their hands more than full as they work following graduate school to carve out careers as independent medical researchers. But in addition to working in the lab studying autoimmune illnesses like lupus and Sjögren’s disease, Dr. Valerie Lewis has taken a lead role in creating and facilitating the OMRF-Langston Biomedical Research Scholars Program. Inaugurated in 2021, the initiative brings undergraduates from Langston University, Oklahoma’s only historically Black college or university, to OMRF for a summer of research. With studies showing that students from underrepresented groups are more likely to drop out of STEM majors than their peers, the program aims to provide mentorship to aspiring scientists of color. Valerie understands that each summer, she serves as more than a liaison and mentor to the scholars. “To a person of color, representation is essential,” she says. “Seeing someone who looks like you doing the thing you aspire to do is very important.” Over time, she hopes her efforts can help change the complexion of science.
-30- Whenever he attends events for the 77 for 77 campaign, OMRF Board Chair Len Cason has what he likes to call “an extremely important role”: He draws the raffle ticket for a free OMRF gift. “It’s not a responsibility they entrust to just anyone,” the Lindsay native and Oklahoma City attorney jokes. Since taking the helm of OMRF’s governing board in 2001, Len has steered OMRF through tremendous growth, including the largest campus expansion in foundation history, an operating budget that has more than doubled, and an endowment that has quadrupled. “What OMRF does is so incredible; the science is amazing,” he says. “I’m honored to be a part of it.”
-31- If you’ve ever walked the halls of OMRF, you’ve probably encountered Alfonso Torres Perales and his signature smile. He leads a cleaning and environmental services team of 12 that keeps more than 500,000 square feet of space at the foundation spick and span. Although Alfonso and his team are not technically OMRF employees – they work for Aramark, a company that contracts with the foundation to provide the services – one aspect of the job struck him as soon as he arrived. “Since day one, everyone has been welcoming. OMRF treats Aramark employees as if we’re part of the same team.” Although Janice Gales got her start in medicine as a cardiac nurse, she hasn’t been at the bedside in years. At OMRF, she coordinates the institutional review board, which ensures that every research project involving human participants is conducted ethically, safely and legally. Thanks to her experience in acute care, she can review a study protocol and immediately “understand what it means about how a participant will be treated.” By overseeing research studies and clinical trials involving hundreds of subjects, she now cares for more people than ever.
-32- On the surface, Michael McDaniel and Dr. Lijun Xia might not seem to have much in common. Michael grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, while Lijun trained as hematologist in his native China. But their paths collided at OMRF a quarter century ago, and they’ve been working together ever since. Michael serves as senior lab manager for Lijun, who investigates the role that a sugar made by the body plays in a variety of biological processes and diseases. Michael manages Lijun’s lab personnel, keeps the scientific equipment in working order, ensures the lab is amply stocked with supplies for experiments, and performs some of those experiments himself. “Working without Michael would be like working with only one hand,” says Lijun. Not coincidentally, Lijun also notes that Michael possesses perhaps the most valuable asset in experimental science: “a great pair of strong, yet skillful hands.” In his spare time, Michael likes to use those hands on woodworking projects, crafting bowls and vases. He fell in love with the hobby when a storm knocked down several Kentucky coffee trees on his property. “Woodworking requires creativity when things don’t go as planned, but part of the fun is finding beauty in the chaos,” says Michael. Numerous coworkers are proud owners of his pieces, which have also been displayed at an art gallery in Oklahoma City.
-33- “Whenever I visit OMRF’s MS Center, I have a ‘grateful attack,’” says Catherine Tatum. Since the foundation’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence opened its doors in 2011, Catherine has been under the care of Dr. Gabriel Pardo, the Center’s founding director. Catherine drives from her home in Tulsa twice a year to see Gabriel, whom she credits with keeping her multiple sclerosis in check. In addition to being a patient, she’s also chosen to become an OMRF donor. “I get back more than I give,” she says. “Way more.”
-34- Vivian Benson, OMRF’s security manager, has one clear mission: “getting everybody home just like they came.” A 16-year officer with Oklahoma City metro law enforcement agencies, she then spent seven years with the Putnam City School District before arriving at OMRF. For Vivian, who’s lived with asthma since she was a child, the best measure of success is when OMRF scientists and staff feel safe and secure. “They need to be focused on what’s going on in those labs,” she says. As someone who knows the burden of disease, she recognizes the impact medical research can have. After 69 years of marriage, three children, 11 grandchildren and 29 greatgrandchildren, Jim and Norma Freeman have turned their focus to mapping their legacy. “OMRF has done a lot of good in Oklahoma and has some of the world’s top scientists,” Norma says. “Medical research impacts everyone. It’s a wonderful thing to support.”
Lisa Nelms says that her 17-year-old self “would never believe I was still here.” By “here,” she means OMRF, where she began working part-time as a typist in 1976. Since that time, typewriters – and the mainframes that succeeded them at OMRF – have disappeared, but Lisa has stayed, moving from supporting roles in scientific programs to OMRF’s Accounting Department, which she’s called home for more than four decades. Now the director of accounting, records and payroll, she laughs when she thinks about how things have changed at the foundation. “One of my early memories is of a particular scientist walking around the foundation in shorts and lab coat with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth.” What’s kept her at OMRF has been what she calls “the family atmosphere,” along with knowing that every employee, whether scientist or administrative staff member, contributes to the foundation’s research mission. She takes particular satisfaction in major OMRF milestones, like the opening of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence or when a drug born at OMRF reaches hospitals and clinics. Although Lisa and her colleagues in accounting often have to act as gatekeepers, “We try to find the right way to help people do what they want.” And when that results in a new grant or discovery, they know they’ve played a part in it.
-36- Drs. Courtney and Chris Sansam got married when both were graduate students at Vanderbilt University. But due to rigorous schedules followed by postdoctoral fellowships at different institutions, “We never saw each other,” says Courtney. That changed in 2010, when Chris opened his lab at OMRF, and Courtney signed on as his lab manager. In the years since, their partnership has cast new light on gene replication and how errors in the process contribute to cancer and other diseases. Not surprisingly, what goes on at OMRF doesn’t always stay at OMRF. “I ask science questions at home all the time,” says Chris. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve avoided the fate predicted by one of Chris’ mentors when he learned the couple intended to work together. “He said, ‘That’s a terrible idea. You’ll get a divorce.’”
-37- Dr. Bob Ellis goes way back with OMRF. While in medical school, he worked on OMRF’s first fundraising campaign, asking doctors to make a gift to help build a new medical research foundation in Oklahoma. Those efforts proved fruitful – OMRF opened its doors in 1950 – and Bob went on to a long and successful career as an allergist in Oklahoma City. When he and his wife, Nancy, decided to make a series of major charitable gifts to local institutions in 2023, they put OMRF, which they’d donated to for many years, on that list. “I wanted to try and help Oklahoma,” Bob says. Still, the donation was about much more than a historical connection. Nancy’s daughter, Angela Ferguson, has received care at OMRF’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence for more than a decade. “My Angela has done so very well,” says Nancy. “You would never know she has MS.” With their gift, Bob and Nancy want to ensure that more patients can receive that same level of specialized care – and enjoy healthier, more fulfilling lives.
-38- Drs. Sathish Srinivasan and Yen-Chun Ho have discovered a new potential treatment path for a common heart ailment. In experiments with mice that lacked certain proteins, the OMRF researchers found that heart valves became thick and overgrown and didn’t close tightly. “The valve sort of became clumsy,” says Sathish, who joined the foundation in 2013 from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That condition, known as mitral valve prolapse, affects as many as 6 million Americans and can require surgical repair or a heart valve replacement. The researchers believe they have identified a molecule that could be an effective target for a therapy. OMRF has filed for a patent on the approach and is now seeking an industry partner to develop the technology.
-39- Congressman Tom Cole of Moore has played a pivotal role in increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health. That’s meant greater resources for medical research nationwide, including in his home state. “It’s a point of pride for Oklahoma to have an institution like OMRF,” says the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “It means some of the best research in the world can be done right here.” Although the fifthgeneration Oklahoman says his personal experiences don’t influence his interest in funding research, he knows firsthand the toll disease takes. His wife, Ellen, lives with multiple sclerosis, and his father, John, developed Alzheimer’s and spent the final 12 years of his life in care facilities. “Eleven of those years, he didn’t know any of us. It was terrible.” Countless families, he says, are facing similar challenges. “If the government has the resources to do something to help, then they ought to do that.”
-40- David Nordyke doesn’t know exactly how long he’s been giving to OMRF. But when the retired architect checked the foundation’s website not long ago, he saw his name on a list of people who’d donated each year for more than a decade. It’s not a streak he intends to break. “I just automatically give,” he says. “I know the great outcomes OMRF produces, and I want to continue to give the rest of my life.” Most often, the Norman resident donates in honor of people close to him. “I had a friend who passed away last week unexpectedly due to a heart attack,” he said recently, “so, I made a gift in his name to cardiovascular research.” Supporting medical research, he says, represents one way he can share some of the “many blessings” he’s enjoyed in his life.
-41- In a typical shift at OMRF, Michael Watkins logs about 16,000 steps. “On a good day, I’ll get up to 10 miles,” he says. As a duty technician, Michael spends nights and weekends walking the foundation’s halls, checking for and responding to alarms and leaks from heating and cooling systems, freezers and scientific equipment. “My job is to make sure everything’s operating well while the other technicians are at home.” Michael, now 62, first worked in building maintenance four decades ago. “It was the most peaceful, wonderful time of my life,” he says. After a career in sales that left his nerves “shot,” Michael saw a chance to join OMRF and return to his professional roots. Almost two years in, he couldn’t be happier with the decision. “It’s beautiful,” he says. “I get to be around a lot of stimulating people.” He stays fit and active, and he never takes work home to his wife, Heather. While making his rounds at the foundation, Michael listens to classical music or audiobooks, but always on a Bluetooth device engineered so it doesn’t block sounds from the outside world. After all, he says, “I have to be able to hear the alarms.”
-42- After completing her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Bombay University, Dr. Padmaja Mehta-D’souza received fellowship offers from Paris to Quebec. She chose OMRF, and she’s now made the foundation her scientific home for more than three decades. “I love my work, and I love the people,” says Padmaja, who’s served as a staff scientist in labs studying conditions ranging from blood disorders to arthritis. “I’ve built friendships with individuals from so many different cultures I never would have conceived of meeting elsewhere.”
-43- Dr. Earl Mabry doesn’t recall why, exactly, he and his bandmates chose OMRF as the charity that would benefit whenever they performed in the 1950s. As dentists and physicians, the members of the Enid-based “Doctors’ Band” were accustomed to getting paid for their professional services; it was no different when they began moonlighting as a jazz ensemble. “We gave them a price and took their money,” says Earl, now 104 and retired from his dental practice. Earl’s son, Dr. James Mabry, believes the decision to give stemmed from OMRF’s founding campaign in the 1940s, when health professionals from around the state raised funds to build a new medical research foundation. “You decided to help out to get the place going,” James said to his dad during a recent visit. Earl smiled. “We charged what we could get. And when we got it, we gave it to the research foundation.”
-44- As Oklahoma’s first recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director’s Early Independence Award, Dr. Sarah Ocañas took a leap most scientists only dream of. After earning her Ph.D., she bypassed a postdoctoral fellowship and moved straight to opening her own lab at OMRF. For someone unafraid to climb steep paths, it seems fitting she also decided to study one of medicine’s most challenging problems: Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, she’s interested in the differing ways the disease affects men and women. “If we’re going to find an effective intervention, it’s not going to be one-size-fits-all.” With a new grant from the Alzheimer’s Association, she’ll investigate whether the loss of the hormone estrogen in menopause could help explain why Alzheimer’s strikes women at both higher rates and with more severity.
-45- As OMRF fundraisers, both of the foundation’s senior directors of philanthropy draw on skills learned in other realms. Sonny Wilkinson served for three years as mayor of The Village, an incorporated community surrounded by Oklahoma City. The role, which often involved contentious situations, helped Sonny curb a tendency to try to make his voice ring out above all others. “Sometimes, people just need to be heard,” he says. “So, I’ve tried to develop more of a listening philosophy.” That approach, he says, helps him unite donors with programs at OMRF that connect to their lives and giving goals. For Kevin Henry, a career as a Division I basketball player provided a valuable template for fundraising. “You have to get your shots in every day,” says Kevin, who made over 100 3-pointers at the University of New Mexico and Baylor University. “If you want to be successful, you need to put in the work.” At OMRF, that’s meant planning key initiatives, then methodically reaching out to and following up with people who might be interested in supporting them. And like in sports, successful fundraisers must learn from experiences that at first might seem like failures. If someone says no, he doesn’t treat that as a defeat. Instead, he says, “I look to find what that donor is passionate about and align it with the needs of the organization.” When that happens, everybody wins.
-46- As Dr. Andy Weyrich has traveled the state for the 77 for 77 campaign, that’s meant dozens of trips that often last three days and can cover more than 500 miles. Still, OMRF’s president rarely gets homesick, because on most of those journeys, his wife, Amy Weyrich, and son, Sam, join him. “It’s been fantastic,” says Amy, who arrived in Oklahoma when Andy took the helm of OMRF in 2022. Even though she’d spent the lion’s share of her life in her native New Jersey and then Utah, where Andy was a professor for three decades, Amy says she and her husband “now know more about Oklahoma than any place we’ve ever lived.” With Sam, who lives with a rare condition known as a leukodystrophy, they have enjoyed learning about Oklahoma’s rich history and seeing its geographical diversity. But for Amy, the best part has been the human connections they’ve made. “My favorite stops have been where we walk into a place and strike up a conversation,” she says. “People have been so friendly, and we’ve had interactions where they’ve said, ‘Oh, OMRF – I’m a patient there!’ Or, ‘My mom’s a patient there!’” The Weyrichs’ daughter, Sarah, joined them on the trip to Rogers County, where they toured the “Oklahoma!” museum in Claremore. “That was fun, because Sarah was about to play Laurey in a production of ‘Oklahoma!’” says Amy. Sam, she says, has loved the social interactions, including chances to meet collegiate mascots Pistol Pete (in Stillwater) and Sooner (in Norman). When the campaign comes to an end in the summer of 2024 with OMRF’s 78th anniversary, the Weyrich family will miss the many adventures that have come with their odyssey. But perhaps no one will miss the road trips more than Sam, who’s grown accustomed to a special treat on each one: a chocolate malt.
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-48- When it comes to administration, less is more. For decades, our expenses for accountants, IT professionals and other administrative employees have held steady in the single digits. That means more money for research. In keeping with our mission of helping more live longer, healthier lives, OMRF moves discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic and the patients who need them. In our onsite clinics, we focus on caring for people with autoimmune diseases and enhancing understanding of these disorders for future generations. In 2022, more than 6,000 patients visited OMRF. And with 50 clinical trials underway, our physicians are bringing the next generation of medications to those who need them most. OMRF’s scientists are advancing the understanding and treatment of conditions from Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease to autoimmune illnesses such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. The resulting diagnostic tests, treatment management tools and life-saving drugs are used in hospitals and clinics around the world, improving health outcomes for people everywhere.
-49- OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION Selected Financial Information - Operating Fund 2022-2023 Prior Year OPERATING REVENUE: Competitive research grants: National Institutes of Health grants $ 37,967,890 $ 39,903,552 Other competitive research grants 11,212,746 12,525,718 Total grants 49,180,636 52,429,270 Private contributions: Income and gifts from trusts 8,053,049 8,179,655 Gifts and bequests 2,674,925 2,514,582 Contributions 2,183,141 2,436,858 Memorials 815,530 650,753 Total private contributions 13,726,645 13,781,848 Special event revenue: Ticket sales and sponsorships 835,455 - Less: direct costs of event (158,983) - Net revenues from special events 676,472 - Other revenue: Clinical revenue, net of provisions for contractual and other adjustments 27,924,582 21,308,555 Interest, dividends and net realized gains on investments designated for operations 2,310,720 1,473,886 Mineral income 1,893,162 1,699,326 Rent 384,818 435,604 Royalties and licensing income 2,947,012 3,325,397 Loss on disposal of assets (471,636) (368,254) Other 1,910,894 1,755,683 Total other revenue 36,899,552 29,630,197 Total revenue $ 100,483,305 $ 95,841,315 Net assets released from restrictions 8,100,788 10,180,213 Total operating revenue $ 108,584,093 $ 106,021,528 OPERATING EXPENSES: Program services - Research 62,848,486 59,936,785 Program services - Clinic operations 31,068,753 24,064,374 Support services - General and administrative 6,172,803 4,770,307 Total operating expenses 100,090,042 88,771,466 Change in net assets from operations $ 8,494,051 $ 17,250,062
-50- Norma and Jim Freeman Linda and Claude M. Harris III Estate of Dena Maxine Hinshaw Hocker Foundation Leslie and Cliff Hudson Inasmuch Foundation Sara F. and Jay Kyte Jacob Matherly/Matherly Mechanical Contractors, LLC The Merrick Foundation Glenn W. Peel Foundation Madalynne L. Peel Foundation The Puterbaugh Foundation Kim and David Rainbolt Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation S. Graham Smith Revocable Trust Bill Stoller/Express Employment Professionals Margueritte H. Wallace Revocable Trust Estate of Debra Ann Worley Libby and G.T. Blankenship Estate of Ruth A. Bouse William M. Cameron/Cameron Family Foundation Eliza and Jit Chakravarty Continental Resources, Inc. Virginia Cook Phyllis A. Cornell Cindy A. and Ed Fulmer William Garrison Living Trust Genentech Foundation Virginia and John Groendyke Jayne R. Hackworth Gay and Ed Kirby Richard K. and Ruth S. Lane Memorial Trust Billie G. and Ross A. McKnight Lou and Jim Morris Stacey L. and Doug Morrison Ronnie A. Rosenfeld Susi M. and Dan Sherrell Richard Tanenbaum/RT Development, LLC Amy and Andy Weyrich, PhD Becky and Randy D. Adams Elizabeth and Greg S. Allen/Allen Family Charitable Foundation American Fidelity Assurance Company Arvest Bank BancFirst Sheryl and Bruce Benbrook/Stock Exchange Bank Linda and Lance Benham/Benham Community Investment Fund Bill and Sherry Berry Foundation - The Ayco Charitable Foundation Biogen IDEC Harry and Louise Brown Foundation Becky and Jim Buchanan III Donna and Len Cason H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable Trust Ben and Ann Clayton Charitable Foundation Cory’s Devon Energy Corporation Mark Diehl Irrevocable Trust Lisa K. and Chad I. Dillingham Ann-Clore and Walt Duncan/ Duncan Oil Company Kate and Jeff H. Ellard Christy and Jim Everest John S. Gardner Ann Felton Gilliland Robert and Blanche Gordon Family Affiliated Fund - OCCF The Hammons Fund - The Dallas Foundation Hardesty Family Foundation Ann and Burns Hargis William D. Hawley, MD Cathy W. and Jerry T. Hoopert Anonymous Anonymous The Chapman Trusts Nancy and Robert Ellis/Robert S. Ellis Revocable Trust Gail and Rick Muncrief Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Presbyterian Health Foundation Stark Family Foundation Anonymous Estate of Dolores and Robert D. Call E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation Cynthia A. and Richard D. Ball Chickasaw Nation Wilma Davis-McElmurry Trust Betty J. Griswold Revocable Trust Thomas J. Horsley Trust Estate Illumina Jessie Dearing Kinley Testamentary Trust Estate Beth and Dale A. Matherly Budd S. and Linda A. Parrish Revocable Trust Sarkeys Foundation Norma Jeanne Tracy Living Trust United Way of Central Oklahoma The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation John D. Burruss American Fidelity Foundation Katharine Duncan Clyde R. Evans Charitable Trust